A good old romantic comedy never fails to uplift romance lovers from even the drearier days and books like The Roommate are perfect for this. If, like me, you love a slow-burn romance, sexual tension and two idiots who don’t see the love blossoming between them, then you must have read The Roommate by Rosie Danan.
In this novel, we meet Clara who has somehow been baited into sharing a flat lease with some stranger named Josh. At first, Josh doesn’t seem so bad – both witty and handsome – and he’s just an ordinary down-on-his-luck actor. But Clara makes the mistake of looking up his name and realizes Josh’s work in the entertainment industry is less TV star and more porn star.
Both Clara and Josh are passionate about women’s rights to better sex so Clara has a great idea to get Josh’s adult performer career rolling by creating a new platform for sexual content named Shameless, backed by her own money. Clara’s family is infamous across the East Coast and this new venture may be their biggest scandal yet.
However, if you have already read this book then you may be on the lookout for similar books to read after The Roommate to move on to next. In that case, keep reading for my recommendations!
Table of Contents
10 Books like The Roommate
Icebreaker, by Hannah Grace
In Icebreaker, Anastasia Allen’s dream of being on Team USA as a competitive ice skater becomes more real with every day and every training session. Just starting out on the Maple Hills skating team thanks to her full college scholarship, things have never looked so promising.
However, things take a downward spiral after an unfortunate misunderstanding, which means the skaters must share the rink with the ice hockey team. When the Maple Hills Titans team captain, Nathan Hawkins, takes over Anastasia’s partner’s place after a horrible accident, everything changes.
Nathan changes his hockey stick for glitter and tights and Anastasia must learn to open her heart in this sweet and spicy contemporary romance.
Already read this novel? Check out our list of more books similar to Icebreaker!
Twisted Love, by Ana Huang
Twisted Love is perfect for anyone looking for an intense and spicy read. In this ‘opposites attract’ trope romance book, we meet Ava Chen who has nightmares of a childhood she can’t quite remember.
With a soft spot for her brother’s ice-cold best friend, Alex Volkov, Ava knows she shouldn’t love him the way she does. Driven by vengeance, Alex is ruthless and cold until he must look after his best friend’s little sister and somehow, she melts the walls around his heart.
But their love could build them up entirely or destroy them, only time will tell.
Already read this novel? Check out our of list more books to read after Twisted Love!
Fix Her Up, by Tessa Bailey
In Fix Her Up, Georgie is most definitely the disappointment of the family, or at least that’s what she thinks. With everyone else running the family business, Georgie would rather work hard at building her children’s party business up from nothing.
But things have come to a standstill in her life, and she decides a little remodelling is due which somehow includes getting herself a date. When finding a date (inevitably) fails, she turns to her best friend’s brother and suggests a little fake dating façade.
Travis is the town’s retired sports star turned property renovator after an injury meant he couldn’t play anymore. Travis plays along with Georgie’s fake dating plan but soon realizes she isn’t the little girl he remembers anymore, and the pretending comes a little too easy.
This is an uplifting rom-com for anyone who is a fan of The Roommate.
The Cheat Sheet, by Sarah Adams
Bree Camden is hopelessly and completely in love with her best friend (and star quarterback) Nathan Donelson. Unfortunately, thanks to the tabloids, so is half of America.
With a long line of girls waiting to be taken on a date by Nathan, Bree has come to accept that Nathan will never see her more than a platonic, girl best friend.
And she is content with that – kind of. But after accidentally blurting out her feelings to a reporter after one too many drinks, the whole world thinks Bree and Nathan are soulmates.
Somehow, the pair must fake a date — publicly! — for three weeks until the Super Bowl. Three weeks to make sure they don’t destroy their friendship and the line between romance and friendship is blurred.
The Cheat Sheet is the perfect fake dating, fuzzy-feeling book to read once you’ve finished The Roommate.
Have you already read this novel? Check out our list of books similar to The Cheat Sheet!
The Flatshare, by Beth O’Leary
Stuck in an apartment with her ex-boyfriend after another (yet their final) breakup, Tiffy is desperate to get out, but she needs something cheap, simple and relatively quick. Leon works night shifts at the hospital and needs cash quickly so puts up an advert to offer his flat out whilst he works.
Leon and Tiffy take turns inhabiting the flat and communicate through sticky notes they leave around each room. The months pass and the pair still haven’t met, until a situation arises where they do.
With crazy exes, stressful jobs and a huge effort of trying to get a wrongfully imprisoned brother free from his cell, the two realize love truly does blossom in the most unlikely of circumstances.
The Flatshare, with its proximity and roommate trope, is a great alternative for those looking for books like The Roommate.
Have you already read this novel? Check out our list of books similar to The Flatshare!
Wild Things, by Laura Kay
Wild Things is a hilarious queer romantic comedy that is perfect for lovers of The Roommate.
El has been in love with her openly lesbian and effortlessly cool best friend, Ray, for years.
Stuck in a dead-end job and hates her passive-aggressive roommate so when the pair along with two of their friends hatch a plan to escape the London madness and move to an old house outside an old English village, it seems the perfect solution.
The Lavender House, as they name it, turns into the perfect queer commune where El is forced to deal with her feelings for Ray once and for all.
Beach Read, by Emily Henry
January Andrews is a romance writer with severe writer’s block. After finding out that her dad was cheating on her mother with another woman after he dies, she finds she can’t quite believe in true love anymore.
Augustus Everett is a literary writer who would rather write a tragic ending than a happy one. When the pair end up as neighbours, they challenge each other to write a book in the other’s genre by the end of the summer.
As they spend more time together to teach each other the ways of crime and romance, they find that love can grow despite the circumstances they find themselves in.
Beach Read is similar to The Roommate where the two protagonists find themselves in close proximity.
Have you already read this novel? Check out our list of books like Beach Read!
The Summer of Broken Rules, by K. L. Walther
The Summer of Broken Rules is an entertaining slow-burn romance that lovers of The Roommate will devour.
This is the first year that Meredith Fox will visit Martha’s Vinyard without her sister, following her tragic death. The occasion is already nerve-wracking but to add to the stress, her entire family will be there for her cousin’s wedding and her boyfriend just dumped her.
Without a date, Meredith is grateful for their family tradition of Assassin: a game they play where, this year, her target is one of the handsome groomsmen. But the more time she spends with the boy, the more she falls.
But to win at Assassin and honour her sister’s legacy, she can’t let her feelings get in the way of the game. Or can she win both, the game and the guy?
Mr Wrong Number, by Lynn Painter
Mr Wrong Number is an entertaining read by Lynn Painter and is the best replacement for those looking for another book similar to The Roommate.
Olivia Marshall is surprised when she gets a suggestive text from a random number on her phone. Unsure what to do, she plays along and somehow, finds herself in the sexiest and most hilarious relationship yet – and it is all totally anonymous. Or at least, that is what she thinks.
At the other end of the line is Colin Beck, Olivia’s brothers’ best friend. He’s always found her nice if not a little annoying but now she is something else entirely (and a huge distraction).
When he finds out his sexter is Olivia, he isn’t quite sure whether to heat things up or quash the flames altogether.
The Soulmate Equation, by Christina Lauren
Single mum, Jess Davis hasn’t dated in years. Her view on romance is skewed after her absent-parent childhood and her ex leaving her right before the birth of their daughter, it’s not until she hears about the new dating app, GenticAlly, that she considers dating once more.
GenticAlly uses DNA-based matchmaking and when she gets an unheard-of ninety-eight per cent match with the app’s founder himself, Dr River Pena, she is sceptical.
Taking an immediate dislike to him, it is only when the company offers her money to spend time with River that she agrees to a date. Worst case scenario, she makes a bit of money, but in the best case, maybe she’ll find love once again.
The Soulmate Equation is a great book for readers wanting a story that explores fate and choice.
Books like The Roommate vary from high tension and high stakes to meet cutes and miscommunication, but all include a romance to die for. I hope you found something in this list that’ll fill the hole The Roommate left behind!
Are you looking for more books to read after finishing The Roommate? Have any recommendations that didn’t make the list? Let us know in the comments!
